Unconquerable Quests
by PaintInsanityTeal
Summary: After The Broken Circle, Surana's feeling pretty down about what Cullen said to her. Zevran somehow takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of this all, and so his gentle flirting ends up as a challenge to win his heart.


"My love for you was but an ill-advised infatuation that only a naïve boy would experience, towards a creature that tempts him with its evil allure. I am smarter, stronger now. I will not make the mistake of loving a monster again."

The words struck her like a freezing ton of bricks, momentarily drowning her and robbing her of her senses. This was not her Cullen, this was not the Cullen she loved, she reminded herself. This Cullen had been through a terrifying experience, he surely didn't mean what he said. He'd been starved of lyrium, he wasn't thinking right, he couldn't be held responsible for the words that spilt from his mouth.  
Yes, surely after everything was said and done and Uldred had been disposed of, Cullen would return to his normal self; he would love her and hold her and maybe he would join their quest to defeat the arch-demon and-  
"Surana, what ever is the matter with you?" Wynne's harsh voice broke through her thoughts and snapped her back into the cruel land of the living, causing her to take in a sudden gulp of breath to try and clear her thoughts.  
"N-Nothing, Wynne. Nothing at all." Pushing herself back onto her feet, she cast a quick glance at her current companions; Wynne, Zevran, and her wonderful Mabiri Hound named Rihn. The others would have likely gone on ahead by now, or at least that's what she presumed. She could see that Zevran had already formed his own opinions about her conversation with Cullen, and she internally groaned at the thought of the conversation with the elf that would most definitely follow in the evening.

Sighing, she gave the order to move on, ignoring the looks of both disappointment and curiosity that Wynne and Zevran threw at her. They had a meglomaniacal blood mage to deal with, after all.

Surana groaned as the camp fire in front of her finally began to warm her body up, wriggling her toes to absorb as much warmth as possible. She felt tired, so tired, and all she really wanted to do was curl up into a tiny ball and sleep her stress away, but no, even that simple luxury would not be granted to her, as Zevran gracefully settled at her side.  
"Can't sleep, Zevran?" she questioned, rearranging her body so that she was no longer sprawled out by the flames.  
"Not at all, Warden. I simply felt pity for you, having to keep watch all by yourself, and came to offer you my company." he ended his statement with his usual smirk and wink, and Surana couldn't help but smile at the golden skinned elf's antics.  
"Why Zevran, are you implying that you care enough about my feelings to interrupt your beauty sleep for them?" she retorted slyly, throwing a cheeky look to the elf at her side.  
"Ah, but dear Warden, where would we be if you, for example, were so overwhelmed by your feelings that you were unable to lead our little squad tomorrow?" he asked.  
"I don't suppose the arch-demon would feel pity on me, and simply die from empathy?" she sighed, shivering and drawing her arms loosely around herself. Zevran chuckled, and drew a little closer to her.  
"But that would suggest that you are feeling enough pain, my good lady, to break the stone cold heart of the arch-demon." he pointed out, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at her, as if he expected an explanation to her words.  
"Eh. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. I'm not really sure that I myself know." she confessed whilst drawing little patterns in the ground that she sat on.  
"Perhaps... talking about it would relieve you of your stress? Or, if that doesn't suit your fancy, I must admit that I am rather an excellent masseuse..." trailing off, he enjoyed the look on her face- it was rather like that of a choking fish, and it caused no end of amusement to him. Hastily pulling herself together, she laughed a little, the first laugh she'd emitted since her conversation with the templar, Zevran noted. Surana's laugh was rather pretty- not like the tinkling of bells, but rather rich, and infectious too. He couldn't help but join in, and soon the two of them were in a full scale laughing fit, somehow managing to avoid waking the others in the camp.

Breathing hard (Surana) and lightly (Zevran), Surana flopped back into a lying position on the dirt, and Zevran turned his attention to the flickering embers in the fire that danced about wildly. Silence reigned for a good while, before Surana quietly spoke up, seeming almost afraid to let the words form.

"I...was in a relationship with him, you know. Back when I was still an apprentice. We were in love. Or at least, I loved him, and I thought he loved me. I guess I was wrong, on that last part." she resumed her thinking, eyes looking intently at the sky, as if it would present her with the solutions to her problems. Zevran waited for a few moments, and when it seemed like she wasn't going to speak again, made to start his response.

"My dear warden I do not mean to be harsh, but...this man was indeed a templar, no?" at her confused nod, he sighed and continued, the teasing tone now gone from his voice.  
"Do forgive me if I am wrong- I thought the job of a templar was to keep mages captive, and to murder them if they so much as stepped out of line? I like my fair share of risky love as much as anyone, however perhaps giving your affection to a man with that much power over you is just a little too...dangerous."

"I didn't think an assassin would know the meaning of danger, Zevran." she muttered, glaring at him slightly. It certainly wasn't her fault Cullen was so perfect, so wonderful, so kind...  
"You're spacing out again," Zevran commented. Surana blushed a crimson shade of red, before ''hmphing'' and turning her head to the side like a petulant child. Silence once more filled the cracks of the space between them, and Surana hastened to find something to say.

"Love...isn't something you can really control. It sorta... rushes in and sweeps you up, and you don't have much say in it. I don't know if you've ever been in love, Zevran, but it's the most terrifying and elating thing that I've ever known." she paused for breath, gazing straight at him for an answer.

"And do you feel that way for anyone now, my dear warden?" Surana was immediately on guard; this wasn't normal for Zevran. The flirtatious teasing, the dirty jokes, she could handle that, but these straight questions were starting to worry her.  
"Maybe, maybe not." she replied, "And you?"  
"Ah..." he smirked at her, a challenging smirk. "As you put it so eloquently; maybe, maybe not." All he got in return was a deadpan stare from the girl next to him, and that just made his smirk even cockier.  
"Screw you, Zevran." she grimaced and made to get up, stopping only at the sudden hand that had appeared on her waist. She gasped as his mouth was suddenly next to her ear, whispering to her.  
"If you say so, my dear warden." she wriggled out of his grasp, hitting him over the head. Zevran didn't seem offended in the least, and simply aimed a playful pout her way.  
"I didn't mean it literally, and besides, we're not exactly alone you know!" she whispered in a harsh tone, whilst keeping her voice as quiet as she could.

"So if we were alone, would you consent?" he questioned, and Surana rolled her eyes.  
"Maybe, maybe not. I tend to hold firm in my beliefs of only committing such acts with a person I feel strongly affectionate towards." And then his reply came, as quick as lightening.  
"So if it's a maybe, then perhaps my wit and charm have already captured your heart?"  
"No," she said, "but capturing your heart does sound quite fun." Zevran grinned at her.  
"You seem to have the habit of embarking on unconquerable quests, dear warden." she 'psh'ed his notion away, accompanied by a casual wave of her hand.  
"Please, after taking down an arch-demon? Capturing your heart will be easy." his silver-tongue made its appearance straight away, never one to let a debate such as this lie.  
"Ah, now I see why the gods chose you to lead our merry little band! You're already crazy to the point of insanity; the pressure can hardly do you much harm!" she let out a mock gasp of indignation at this.  
"Why, Ser Zevran, watch your tongue!" she cried, and burst into laughter at her own words, soon accompanied by Zevran's own chuckles.

For if she were able to kill an arch-demon, she would most definitely be able to capture an assassin's heart.


End file.
